US slaps sanctions on individual related to DPRK

WASHINGTON - US Treasury announced on Monday that it has imposed sanctions on a South African national for his alleged action of helping Pyongyang "evade US sanctions."

The Treasury said in a statement that Vladlen Amtchentsev, a Russian-born South African national, has advised Velmur Management Pte. Ltd. (Velmur), an already blacklisted company by the United States on "how to evade US sanctions."

Washington designated Velmur in August 2017, accusing it of working "to purchase fuel oil and gasoil for DPRK (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea)."

In Monday's statement, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin claimed that Pyongyang "depends upon the help of criminals and illicit actors to raise and transfer funds."

The Treasury's new move was the latest among a series of sanctions imposed by the United States on the DPRK-related entities and individuals amid the ongoing talks between the two sides on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Pyongyang has repeatedly criticized the continued sanctions imposed by Washington, calling them actions of "deepening our mistrust."